If you are suffering due to a hospital mistake, you are not alone. Despite the duty of care that hospitals and hospital staff owe to patients, mistakes in emergency rooms (ERs) and other hospital departments are far more common than they should be.
With this being the case, patients who are suffering due to hospital mistakes can—and should—seek to hold their hospitals fully accountable. Patients have clear legal rights in this scenario, and understanding these legal rights is the first step toward taking appropriate legal action.
What rights do patients have after a hospital mistake in Illinois? Patients’ legal rights in this scenario include:
As a patient, you have the right to get the care you need from a healthcare provider of your choosing. If a hospital has made a mistake, the hospital cannot force you to try to let it make things right, and it cannot prevent you from seeing a provider at an unaffiliated healthcare facility. In this scenario, seeing a provider at an unaffiliated healthcare facility is important for protecting your health and your legal rights.
Holding a hospital accountable for a medical mistake starts with hiring an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer to represent you. This is not a scenario in which you should try to represent yourself. Medical malpractice claims are subject to special rules and requirements in Illinois, and it is critical to ensure that you are seeking full compensation for the present and future costs of the hospital’s mistake.
Hiring a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer to help you seek just compensation should not cost you anything out of pocket. You have the right to hire a lawyer on a contingency-fee basis, which means that your legal fees (if any) will be calculated as a percentage of the compensation you receive if your claim is successful.
To file a successful claim, you will need evidence of what went wrong and why. You have the right to gather this evidence through the discovery process—and this also requires experienced legal representation. Once your lawyer has gathered evidence of the hospital’s mistake, then your lawyer will be able to fight for just compensation on your behalf.
Seeking just compensation for the costs of a hospital mistake generally means dealing with the hospital’s insurance company. If you are entitled to just compensation, you have the right to file a claim with the hospital’s insurance company, and you have the right to be treated fairly throughout the insurance claim process.
But, this does not mean that the insurance company simply has to accept liability and pay the financial compensation you are owed. To make sure you are treated fairly, you will need an experienced lawyer on your side.
If you have a claim for a hospital mistake, you are entitled to just compensation for your present and future out-of-pocket losses. This includes not only your present and future medical bills, but your lost income and other out-of-pocket costs as well.
If you have a claim, you are also entitled to just compensation for the non-financial consequences of the hospital’s mistake. This includes your present and future pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of companionship and consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Finally, while most successful medical malpractice claims settle out of court, you have the right to fight for accountability in court if necessary. If the hospital’s insurance company is unwilling to offer a fair settlement in your case, you can—and should—rely on your lawyer to fight for just compensation at trial.
Do you need to know more about seeking just compensation for a hospital mistake in Illinois? If so, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. Speaking with a lawyer as early as possible can make a meaningful difference in the outcome of your case, especially when you are still trying to understand what went wrong and how the hospital’s mistake has affected your life. An attorney can answer your questions, review your medical records, and help you avoid mistakes that could jeopardize your claim. You deserve clear guidance and an advocate who will protect your rights from day one.
Contact Coplan + Crane online or at (312) 982-0588 today for a FREE case evaluation. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers proudly serve clients across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas.
